Shadowing Practice: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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There are some pieces of technology you really develop an appreciation for.

Maybe it's your phone, your laptop, your drawing tablet, but for me, it is the copy machine.

Oh, the copy machine.

I know it's not possible, but I could promise you that whenever the copy machine was aware of my presence, that's when it decided to malfunction,

especially if it knew I was short on time.

And of course, when it jams, the fancy copy machines will even tell you what is wrong and how to fix it,

but my experience with trying to follow the instructions of fixing the copy machine makes it worse, and then by that point there's a line,

and you feel your heart pounding, and you're embarrassed because now you've jammed it for everyone.

Yeah, so while I've developed an appreciation and respect for the copy machine, I've definitely tried to limit my use of it over the years.

Saves paper anyway.

You may be wondering why is she spending so much time on this?

Well I want to call your attention to a technology, a biotechnology, that works almost like an amazing and fancy copy machine.

Except not for something on paper.

No, it's for DNA.

This biotechnology is PCR.

Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR for short.

It provides a way to make more copies of a portion of DNA.

Lots and lots and lots of DNA copies, and this technology does NOT need to happen in a cell either.

In fact, it can happen in a test tube.

And so you may wonder, number one, how does PCR work?

And number two, why?

Why make more copies of some specific portion of DNA?

So let's briefly answer those two questions.

To answer the first question, the how does this work question,

let's talk about what we need first before we get to the steps of how it works.

We need the DNA portion that we want to make copies of, we need some kind of buffer to put it in,

and then we need things that would be necessary to make more copies of the DNA.

So think about what that might mean from our DNA replication video.

We'll need primers.

Recall that primers help DNA polymerase, a building enzyme, know where to go to start its building.

We need DNA polymerase, the building enzyme.

Fun fact, the DNA polymerase used is often a heat -resistant type of DNA polymerase as PCR uses heat.

Typically, the polymerase chosen for the job is tach polymerase, a type of of heat -resistant DNA polymerase.

Tac polymerase is originally from a type of bacteria that can handle and live in really high temperatures in nature, in hot springs.

Pretty cool.

We also need DNA nucleotides for the DNA polymerase to build with.

So we can look at the PCR sequence in three major steps.

We'll illustrate with one double -stranded DNA molecule here, and let's assume this is what we want replicated.

Step 1.

Denaturation.

You've heard that word denature before, right, when we were talking about enzymes?

One way we had talked about denaturing enzymes was using heat.

And heat is what we will use in this step.

This step involves the addition of heat needed to separate the two strands of the DNA molecule.

Step 2.

Annealing.

This word means something a little different in biology.

Basically this is when the two DNA strands

that now have been separated by that heat are going to be cooled and be joined by the primers.

The temperature for this step should allow the primers to bind to the specific segment of DNA that you want to amplify,

which means make copies of.

Step 3.

DNA synthesis.

Remember, synthesis means to make something.

With DNA synthesis, we're going to make more copies of DNA, and to do so, DNA polymerase will begin to work on both of these strands

and it will use the DNA nucleotides as its building material to amplify the DNA.

We should note that the temperature at this step may be a little warmer than the previous step.

It needs to be a temperature that is ideal for the specific DNA polymerase used.

Now after finishing one cycle of this, you have two double -stranded DNA molecules, right?

Similar to how it would be in DNA replication within a cell.

But you can repeat this now, except this time you now have two double -stranded DNA molecules to start with.

So you repeat with the denaturation, annealing, and DNA synthesis steps, now you have four double -stranded DNA molecules.

You repeat the steps again, now you have eight.

And if the process is automated by a machine, which, why yes, they do have in science catalogs, you can actually do this fairly quickly.

Which brings you to, why?

Why do this?

Well, any technology that needs copies of a portion of DNA could find PCR useful, but But we'll just mention two examples in our limited time.

We mentioned DNA fingerprinting in our gel electrophoresis video, and we mentioned that DNA fingerprinting can be part of a crime scene investigation.

Well, in order to have enough copies of DNA samples to run in gel electrophoresis to analyze,

PCR can be performed to make copies of the of the fragments of DNA that are found at a crime scene.

Another example?

Diagnosis of a disease, such as one caused by a virus.

For an especially relevant example, I can mention one of the testing types done for the virus that causes COVID -19.

COVID -19 is a pandemic that we're experiencing right now in 2020.

And the virus that causes COVID -19 is called SARS -CoV -2.

You might have heard of one test type that uses a sample from a nose or throat swab in a PCR test,

but to be more specific, this test for this virus is a real -time reverse transcription PCR test.

The reason it has this fancier reverse transcription in there is

because this virus uses RNA as its genetic material instead of DNA,

and you have to use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to convert the RNA into DNA.

So before we can do the regular PCR steps we've mentioned, we must convert isolated and purified RNA into DNA.

A specific primer is added that will bind to an area of viral RNA,

and then reverse transcriptase is used to convert viral RNA into cDNA .

Using specific primers and the TAC DNA polymerase,

the cDNA can be copied over and over each cycle in the familiar steps we've been mentioning of PCR.

See the goal is you need enough copies of the viral cDNA in order for it to be detectable.

The idea being if it's a positive result, you have the selective primers binding and you have the TAC DNA polymerase making more

and more copies of the viral cDNA each cycle.

In addition, specific fluorescent probes are also used for identification.

A certain level is needed for identification of a positive result.

And if the virus's genetic material is not present in the sample, then primers wouldn't bind, and there would be no cDNA copies produced.

If you'd like to learn more about this test as far as its limitations

and also its complexity as we're being pretty general here, we've included some further reading suggestions in the video details.

So those were just two examples of how PCR can be used,

but there are many more examples in our suggested further reading links in the video description.

Overall, PCR is such a useful and fascinating technology that will likely remain indispensable for future uses.

It's a rare day when I pull out that word, indispensable.

Well, that's it for the Amoeba Sisters, and we remind you to stay curious.

I'll see you next time.

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239 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Dna, Pcr, polymerase, step, copies. This video has 83 sentences and 1299 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:30. The speaker talks at a natural 173 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
strand noun	/ˈstɹænd/	Each of the strings which, twisted together, make up a yarn, rope or cord.
virus noun	/ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/	A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and…
enzyme noun	/ˈɛn.zaɪm/	A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
molecule noun	/ˈmɑ.lɪ.kjul/	The smallest particle of a specific element or compound that retains the chemical properties of that element or compound; two or more atoms held together by…
reverse noun	/ɹɪˈvɝs/	The opposite of something.
viral adjective	/ˈvaɪɹəl/	Of or relating to a biological virus.
synthesis noun	/ˈsɪnθəsɪs/	The formation of something complex or coherent by combining simpler things.
bind verb	/ˈbaɪ̯nd/	To tie; to confine by any ligature.
fancy noun	/ˈfæn.si/	The imagination.
convert verb	/kənˈvɝt/	To transform or change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product.
genetic adjective	/d͡ʒəˈnɛt.ɪk/	Relating to genetics or genes.
identification noun	/aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/	The act of identifying (i.e., which one, which thing).
jam noun	/ˈd͡ʒæm/	A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts
appreciation noun	/əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/	The act of appreciating.
resistant adjective	/ɹəˈzɪstənt/	Which makes resistance or offers opposition.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
pull out verb	To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

You’ve heard that word “denature” before, right?
When we were talking about enzymes?
Which brings you to…why?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	have been separated · is automated · can be performed
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've jammed · I've developed · You've heard

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, we're, we've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/, throat /ˈθɹoʊt/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, transcription /tɹænˈskɹɪpʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, biology /baɪˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, complexity /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like strand, virus, enzyme.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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